Deadline Extended for Government Transition to Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

The General Services Administration recently extended the deadline for completing the government transition from the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number to the New Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to April 2022.

“By April of 2022, the federal government will stop using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM),” reads the GSA Unique Entity Identifier Update page. “At that point, entities doing business with the federal government will use a unique entity identifier (UEI) created in SAM.gov.”

In the meantime, Grants.gov will continue preparing the system to accept the new applicant UEIs when they become available.

To stay up to date on the latest UEI news from GSA and to determine how you can prepare, please visit gsa.gov/entityid.

How Grants.gov Is Preparing for SAM’s Rollout of the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

May 7, 2020 Update: U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has relaxed the December 2020 deadline to replace the D-U-N-S® number with the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Grants.gov’s planned UEI-related system enhancements are dependent on GSA’s schedule. Please visit our UEI Forms and Maintenance Calendar pages for the latest information on UEI integration with Grants.gov.

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Last July, we wrote about SAM.gov’s planned introduction of the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), which is currently scheduled to replace the DUNS Number around the end of 2020. You can get the most up-to-date information about the UEI rollout on the GSA’s Unique Entity Identifier Update page.

In this post, we begin preparing Grants.gov applicants for what the UEI rollout will look like within the Grants.gov system – particularly, what users will see when working on an application or taking other actions within Workspace.

Resource: GSA Publishes Q&A About Upcoming Entity ID Rollout

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently published a set of questions fielded from users, along with answers, about upcoming changes to the unique entity identifier used to do business with the government.

Beginning in December 2020, the D-U-N-S® number will be replaced by a “new, non-proprietary identifier” requested in, and assigned by, the System for Award Management. This new identifier is being called the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), or the Entity ID.

Q&A Resource

Below are some examples from the new GSA Q&A resource:

Q: Will the GSA automatically assign the new UEI or does the vendor have to take action to register?
A: Existing registrants will be automatically assigned a new UEI. New registrants will be assigned a UEI as part of their SAM registration.

Q: For entities that receive a subgrant from a recipient of a federal award, will they be required to obtain a unique identifier from SAM.gov?
A: Yes. Sub-awardees will need to obtain a UEI to adhere to regulations. Instead of going to D&B for a DUNS number like they do today, the sub-awardee would go to SAM.gov to request a UEI. They will not be required to complete the full entity registration process.

GSA Provides Projected Timeline for Implementation of New Unique Entity Identifier Replacing D-U-N-S® Number

May 7, 2020 Update: U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has relaxed the December 2020 deadline to replace the D-U-N-S® number with the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Grants.gov’s planned UEI-related system enhancements are dependent on GSA’s schedule. Please visit our UEI Forms and Maintenance Calendar pages for the latest information on UEI integration with Grants.gov.

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The time is coming to say goodbye to the D-U-N-S® number.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently published a resource page that outlines upcoming changes to the unique entity identifier used to do business with the government.

Beginning in December 2020, the D-U-N-S® number will be replaced by a “new, non-proprietary identifier” requested in, and assigned by, the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). This new identifier is being called the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), or the Entity ID.

SAM Updates Its Registration Process

Last week, the System for Award Management (SAM) updated its registration process, which is required before an organization can receive a federal grant. Now, when you register a new entity in SAM to do business with the U.S. government, SAM requires you to send an original, signed notarized letter stating you are the authorized entity administrator before SAM will activate your SAM.gov registration.

Wondering to yourself, “How do I complete my entity administrator notarized letter?” Read this FAQ from the Federal Service Desk (FSD) for more information.

Looking for more detailed information about this change, who is impacted, or wondering why it was made? Read this SAM Update from the General Services Administration (GSA).

The Future of SAM.gov

There’s a lot going on under the star-spangled top hat of SAM.gov.

Grants.gov users know SAM.gov as the website on which they need to register in order to do business with the U.S. government. On SAM.gov, users can create an entity registration, update or renew an entity registration, check status of an entity registration, and search for entity registration and exclusion records.

But a new, beta version of the website still in development promises to make the site’s feature set far more expansive.

Plans are in place to consolidate under SAM.gov 10 existing federal award systems that are managed by the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Integrated Award Environment. These systems handle assistance listings, contract opportunities, wage determinations, and sub-award data, among other things.

Image credit: GSA.gov

Share Your Feedback on the General Services Administration’s RFI for ‘Government-Wide Entity Identification and Validation Services’

A critical part of registering as an applicant organization with Grants.gov involves entering a DUNS number – or obtaining one before proceeding.

A DUNS number is a unique nine-character number that Grants.gov and other programs use to identify your organization. For example, the federal government uses the DUNS number to track how federal money is allocated. Applicants doing business with the federal government can get one for free through Dun and Bradstreet (D&B).

In 2018, the D&B contract with the federal government’s General Services Administration (GSA) expires, and the GSA has released a Request for Information (RFI) for government-wide entity identification and validation services.